MP Mohamed Abou El-Enein, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, sharply confronted the Israeli delegate over the crimes committed against the people of Gaza, leading to a heated exchange during a meeting of Euro-Mediterranean parliamentarians with officials from the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Abou El-Enein told the Israeli delegate that what is happening in Gaza constitutes state terrorism, delivering a strong and uncompromising rebuke.
MP Mohamed Abou El-Enein asked: “Where is the peace we keep talking about? We tell the world every day: come, let us sit at the table and discuss the peace process — but on the ground, there are those who insist on killing people and their children. Who can accept that?”
He went on to say: “You speak about Syria — fine. But why did you go 400 kilometers inland? Leave it alone. I am not comparing, but even Egypt is under pressure; the President and the people bear heavy burdens, and we work across the region — yet some are driving it toward the brink of disaster.”
The Deputy Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives declared: “Let me be clear — what is happening in Gaza is genocide. People are being displaced from their homes; there is no medicine, no food, no water. Hospitals are destroyed, and children are dying of hunger and despair. Every day I receive hundreds of messages saying: our children are dying, we have nothing to eat, we were expelled from our homes. What conscience can tolerate this?”
Abou El-Enein highlighted that the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002 was clear — 22 Arab states recognized Israel’s right to exist in exchange for a Palestinian state on its own land. “But what happened?” he asked. “The occupation persisted, displacement increased, and today the plan is obvious: to expel all Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, seize their land, and scatter them around the world so they will never have a state.”
He stressed that Egypt has abided by the peace treaty since 1979 and has always respected it, but warned that today there is a new plan — a plan to liquidate the Palestinian cause entirely.
Addressing the United Nations, Abou El-Enein said: “We appreciate the recent position, but it is not enough to speak out on minor issues while two and a half million people are being uprooted from their homes. Is this the human rights you speak of?”
He concluded: “We are living through the most dangerous moment in the region. Everyone knows that an explosion could happen at any time. It is our duty to speak the truth: what is happening in Gaza is a crime against humanity, and the world must act immediately to stop it.”
